burns from the simpsons. >> think of the economy as a car and the rich man is the driver. if you don't give the driver all the money, he'll drive you over a cliff. it is just -- >> what actually will happen if america does head toward that fiscal cliff? and go over it even temporarily? cnn money's jean zahadi has been on this story from the very beginning. here is the question at hand. a lot of people are saying, what happens if we don't get a deal right by the end of december and we get into early january, maybe go over the cliff for a week or two? is that catastrophic? >> it doesn't have to be. there are steps the government can take to mitigate the impact of the spending cuts and the tax increases. but legislative and budget experts i talked to say that really assumes a lot of things. one, that congress will act quickly, which can it do if it wants to, but, you know, can they cut a deal in january that they couldn't cut in december? that's one question. january tends to be a slow legislative month, a lot of new members are getting acclimated. and frankly, you know, peop